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Global Scholars Program

2002 Heiskell Award Winner: Faculty Programs

Nomination submitted by: Dr. James L. McCartney, Director, University of Missouri-Columbia International Center

Program Mission
The institutionalization of the Global Scholars program represents a fundamental change in the direction of the undergraduate curriculum at MU. While funding for area studies programs on campus is limited, the Global Scholars project has helped infuse the entire undergraduate curriculum with an international outlook.

In 1996 the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) announced an international vision and mission statement for the 21st century, with the intention of significantly expanding international opportunities for undergraduate students within the land-grant tradition. To broaden the reach of international education at MU, the Global Scholars Program was designed to have a maximum impact on the general undergraduate population, regardless of major field of study.

MU's Global Scholars Program (GSP) is a faculty development program focusing on internationalizing the undergraduate curriculum. GSP was created by the Council on International Initiatives (CII) in 1998 based on a Title VI U.S. Department of Education grant. The program is administered by the International Center in collaboration with CII, the colleges/schools and the Provost Office. It is supported by funding from the Provost and the Deans. The goal of GSP is to build a community of faculty committed to introducing and expanding the global dimension of their teaching.

Modeled on MU's nationally recognized Campus Writing Program, which emphasizes teaching renewal, Global Scholars offers a comprehensive faculty development program that includes: annual international (summer seminar) experiences, individual grants, teaching workshops and continuous mentoring and monitoring. As a result, in the first three years of the program alone, a corps of 103 faculty have either newly developed or significantly revised 118 courses to include an international focus. The combined annual enrollment in these classes reaches well over 4,000 students annually. In addition to this substantial and swift impact on the curriculum, Global Scholars has established at MU an unprecedented campus-wide commitment to internationalization.